1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power transmission for a snowmobile including a steering ski supported on a front body and a track device supported on a rear body.
2. Description of the Background Art
Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 52-86615 discloses a snowmobile in which a track device is driven by transmitting a drive force of an engine to a drive shaft of the track device through a V-belt transmission and a final reduction gear of a chain transmission. In the background art snowmobile, the V-belt transmission and the chain case are disposed separately on the right and left sides of the snowmobile with respect to a crankcase of the engine. A connecting shaft for connecting a driven side of the V-belt transmission to an input side of the chain case crosses the crankcase.
When the V-belt transmission and the chain case are disposed on both sides of the engine as described above, the connecting shaft for transmitting power from the V-belt transmission to the chain case side becomes longer. Also, the weight is increased, with a result that a space in which the connecting shaft is arranged must be enlarged.
Accordingly, a structure capable of reducing the weight and the arrangement space of the connecting shaft is desired in the art. Further, there is a strong demand for a body with a streamlined shape. In this regard, particularly, for a snowmobile in which an engine is disposed between a pair of right and left main frames, care must be taken not to widen a distance between the right and left main frames too much.